With winter storms hitting the East Coast and cold snaps across the country, all eyes have been glued to the weather forecasts... How about the charitable giving forecast? Today on the blog, we have compiled some of the most important stats and predictions out there regarding charitable giving in 2018. See which donor sources are growing fastest, the meteoric rise of "donor-advised funds" - and how passage of the new tax bill will affect giving in 2018. We hope the information is useful as you begin strategizing for budgeting, programming and development in the year ahead.

We recently discussed the importance of year-end giving. A major part of many nonprofits' year-end giving campaigns: #GivingTuesday. According to the official site, Giving Tuesday is "a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration." It takes place the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (U.S.) and shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, kicking off the year-end charitable season.

Donor management software, the program of multiple functions, has an overarching, primary goal: to better, deepen, and strengthen donor relationships. With both the centralization and organization of your donors’ data, you’ll be able to create the most complete image and understanding of each of your donors. (Because of your donor management software, you might even end up knowing your donors better than they know themselves!)

You already know how important it is for your nonprofit to have a website. You've chosen striking images, posted statistics on your impact, and made sure your "donate" button is displayed prominently on every page. Unfortunately, it hasn't been enough.

One of the keys to a successful development strategy is having diverse sources of income. We most frequently discuss event fundraising, but it's wise to have several fundraising "arms" so the loss or decline of one source won't hamper day-to-day operations. Other opportunities include annual fundraising drives, regular or monthly giving, and one we'll cover today: writing grants. Is grant writing part of your development strategy?

What a whirlwind 2017 has been so far! We're just one quarter in, and already we have developed groundbreaking resources in the world of event fundraising. In a recent Winspire News survey, the majority of readers (52 percent) noted a desire for more visual content, like webinars and infographics. We've since added 3 new webinars to the Webinar Library all about best practices to maximize revenue from live auctions and fund-a-needs. Another 33 percent of readers indicated an interest in audio content - namely podcasts - so you can continue fundraising education on your own time. As a result, we launched a brand-new podcast in January called Events with Benefits.

Whether you’re raising money for a community project, a research facility or a local animal shelter, there are a number of tried and tested methods for raising funds... so much so, it can be hard to come up with any original ideas for connecting new people to your cause. Thankfully, the internet has opened up a wealth of new channels and possibilities for fundraisers. They key to standing out from the crowd: Keep your online fundraising endeavors both fun and profitable. Fun ideas like online auctions, hosting webinars and even setting up an e-commerce store work wonders for both organizations and individuals looking to raise money. Here's why.

When you think of putting on the annual charity auction, 5K Fun Run, golf tournament and more, do you get excited? Or are you more like one organizer who described it like this: "I feel like someone emptied a jigsaw puzzle on top of my desk and now expects me to put it together - without the box." Fact is, the number one reason events don't reach their full potential is that most event organizers simply don't know what they don't know. We tend to do events the same way they've been done - and make the same mistakes - for years, until the event is difficult to justify having at all. That's why at Winspire we're passionate about providing resources, tips and ideas from event fundraising leaders across North America to help you reach and exceed your fundraising goals. In today's post we sat down with Noah McMahon, founder and CEO of a company that specializes in putting together multi-million dollar fundraising events and philanthropic consulting. Drawing from decades of event production experience, McMahon shares 5 useful event planning tips, including how to: Surprise the audience. Focus on face-to-face invitations. Combat the "table sale" bystander effect by setting expectations in advance. Set (and write down) BIG goals. Commit to measuring impact. Best of all, each tip can be applied to fundraisers big and small. Let's get started! 1. Surprise the audience. "I have rarely been involved in events where you can send out invitations, sit back and all the seats get sold. So I like to focus on 'event architecture' when designing an event," McMahon says. The first step to selling tickets and generating buzz for your event, is to create someting that's different and better than what people expect.

So many nonprofits are scared to ask for what they want. "I'm being an imposition." "Asking for the organization sounds like I'm asking for myself." "They'll probably say no." Sound familiar? Fact is, if you don't ask, you can't further your programs and multiply your impact. In today's post, nonprofit coach Lynda West draws from years of mentoring charities to discuss how peer-to-peer mentoring groups, called "masterminds", can help you get to the next level of fundraising success. Get 3 concrete tips to gain confidence and ask for what's needed to achieve your goals. Then head over to our weekly podcast, Events with Benefits, for the full 30-minute episode all about persevering through many common challenges nonprofits face. Joining a Nonprofit "Mastermind" First, what is a "mastermind"? Forbes defines a mastermind as "a group of smart people [that meets] weekly, monthly, daily even if it makes sense, to tackle challenges and problems together. They lean on each other, give advice, share connections and do business with each other when appropriate." Peer-to-peer mentoring can be very powerful. That's why joining - or creating - a group of like-minded fundraising professionals is the #1 thing you can do to get to your fundraising efforts to the next level. Here's why. 1. Provides accountability "I mentor people both remotely (via Zoom web conferencing) and locally," West says, "and I've found that what matters most is not their location, but how much time they're willing to devote to the program."